How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 409

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Narke Farnese stood alone in Berlin Plaza as snow fluttered around him, looking around his surroundings.

 

He had been dropped here alone. He couldn’t help but understand what that meant. Since he already possessed divine power, they considered his basic abilities sufficient. It meant cooperation and such things weren’t necessary. Narke approached a newspaper stand with an expressionless face and picked up a Berlin daily newspaper.

 

“Excuse me.”

 

“Ah, if you want to read it, you need to purchase…”

 

“I’ll come back tomorrow morning and pay you.”

 

Narke smiled briefly and said something irresponsible. Then he erased his expression again and quickly read through the newspaper. Pleroma extermination. Heavy snow. Personal advertisements. After reading what caught his eye, Narke left the newspaper stuck in the stand and departed.

 

Five minutes later, Narke arrived at a bakery with a purple sign. He unhesitatingly opened the door and walked toward the counter. As the shop owner’s indifferent face turned and came closer, confusion filled the owner’s expression. Before he could stop him, Narke’s hand had already touched the owner’s forehead.

 

“—Enter through the narrow gate. I’ve come to meet Violet Brot.”

 

“…Ah…, uh…”

 

Narke didn’t open his mouth and stared straight into the owner’s eyes. The hazy pupils rolled around. The words Narke conveyed through divine power embedded themselves in the owner’s head.

 

—Anyone who comes to you next seeking answers while carrying Vitriol is a fake from the German government. Fearing that you who seek Christ’s will might fall into the schemes of the antichrist who treats judgment as illusion, I have come to tell you before it happens.

 

Suddenly the owner’s knees gave out. This wasn’t a phenomenon resulting from poor divine power control like tension or excessive consciousness removal. He was about to show a reaction that any mage belonging to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith would have seen familiarly. Narke, who noticed what he was trying to do, watched him quietly, and now the owner was able to stand upright as before despite being under mental manipulation. Only now did Narke open his mouth directly.

 

“We must hurry. Where is the interview location?”

 

Thirty minutes later.

 

“…Violet Brot.”

 

Leonard, looking at the purple sign, unconsciously moved his lips. Seeing the sign made him certain. The name of the teacher seeking employment, Violet Brot, was a pun. Elias, who had been frozen beside him, widened his eyes and brought his face close to Leonard’s.

 

“What’s this? Why are you saying what I should say~”

 

“…”

 

Leonard suppressed the urge to close his eyes and grabbed Elias.

 

“We need to raid that place. Don’t go in now. If we go in like this, it’s game over.”

 

“Hey, you actually know how to think like that. You’ve grown a lot.”

 

“That’s my line.”

 

Leonard grabbed Elias’s arm and quickly moved to the side of the shop. They had to hide before the baker saw them. Considering the purpose of the test, that bakery wasn’t open for actual business. Using an ordinary advertisement that others would see as just a tutor recruitment ad, they were waiting for a specific person with the key to the code hidden in that advertisement. And the shop owner would deliver a letter or object to that specific person. In other words, this bakery was a kind of ‘base.’

 

Elias whistled—nearly getting punched in the mouth for it—and followed Leonard’s lead.

 

“Elias. Do you prefer finding things, or having conversations?”

 

“Obviously beating them up, what are you asking?”

 

“Sigh…”

 

“Why?! You asked first! This hurts my feelings!”

 

“Say something from the choices I gave!”

 

“How boring. I’ll have a conversation.”

 

“Good.”

 

Leonard stuffed all of Elias’s hair that had escaped from his hat back inside. After pressing the hat down so Elias’s hair color would be as invisible as possible, he said with a troubled expression.

 

“Revealing our identities doesn’t seem like a good choice… but we can’t take off our coats in this weather.”

 

“Don’t you know taking off the coat wouldn’t help either?”

 

When Leonard frowned at Elias’s words, Elias whistled to play dumb and changed the subject.

 

“No matter how I think about it, it’s surprising that you’re not going in there to flash your association certificate. You really have changed a lot. Don’t you think?”

 

Leonard usually wasn’t one to enjoy using his authority—rather the opposite, which sometimes made him seem rigid to Elias—but when witnessing criminal activity, it was naturally a different story. To Elias, the Leonard he knew was a friend who would righteously use his authority as an association member to break through crimes head-on and uncover the truth.

 

On the other hand, Elias was more accustomed to life without using authority, and perhaps because he always thought of the worst possibilities, he tried not to reveal truthful information to an extent that even he thought was rather peculiar. To Elias, standing before the shop owner with an association certificate was no different from revealing all the information he possessed, which meant that if his deductions were wrong, the ways to salvage the situation would be extremely limited.

 

But Leonard, perhaps having changed his thinking from spending time with Nicolaus Ernst, was now surprisingly suggesting undercover investigation. He was thinking exactly what Elias was thinking! Elias felt a strange amusement and his eyes lit up. Regardless of what Elias was getting excited about, Leonard lowered his voice and whispered under a sound-dampening spell.

 

“…I don’t know what exactly has changed, but there’s no other way now. Looking around for a clothing store from here would be too much. We have no choice but to go in like this.”

 

“Why is it too much… seeing things like this, you’re still as stubborn as ever.”

 

“What?”

 

“Never mind, what will you do if that doesn’t work? Tell me what you’re thinking.”

 

Elias also had a clear plan but didn’t bother voicing it, because members of the Imperial Mage Association were watching them. Leonard knew this fact too. Leonard was confident that Elias would know what he was thinking, so he left only two words.

 

“Go in and draw attention. I’ll search for the rest.”

 

And so, three minutes later.

 

Ding—

 

Elias entered the bakery without bothering to abandon his usual casual attitude. The baker’s already stiff face hardened further, then quickly relaxed.

 

“Welcome. What brings an Imperial official here?”

 

“I’m here for a random inspection.”

 

“A random inspection. Is there something wrong?”

 

While they conversed, Leonard, who had cast invisibility magic, entered behind the counter where the owner stood. Elias, sensing the movement of mana, glanced at the air and continued speaking.

 

“Well, it’s not necessarily because something’s wrong. Don’t you have these inspections often?”

 

“Not very often…”

 

“Then consider it starting today. I just came from another place earlier. Orders came down to look around Berlin city. Can I try some of what you have here?”

 

Elias pointed at the bread and raised his eyebrows. Leonard’s gaze turned to the owner’s facial muscles. What was the reason this bakery was designated as a kind of base? He needed to find out. If something was hidden in that bread, which clearly seemed to be for disguising normal business, the owner couldn’t help but hesitate even for a moment.

 

While unknown tension built up, the owner gestured so readily that it was deflating.

 

“If you wish, please do so. I’m sorry I can’t offer you something better.”

 

“You’re a kind person. So, how’s business?”

 

“To be honest, it’s not good. When will the blockade be lifted? It would be nice to at least know when supplies will come in.”

 

“I don’t really know that either… I’m just doing this because I’m told to, not because I know anything and am going around. By the way, there’s no smell of bread?”

 

“We ran out of flour so we can’t make any.”

 

At those words, Leonard, who had been leaning behind the owner quietly examining the surrounding objects, furrowed his brow.

 

‘Ah, what is he saying.’

 

Enough small talk now. This wasn’t a situation with plenty of time.

 

“Haha, I suppose so.”

 

“Yes, yes. And the reason I came in here is nothing else but, you see that? Outside.”

 

“Yes, what’s the problem outside?”

 

“Of course there is. The door panel has fallen off. What if kids step on it buried in snow?”

 

“It was fine this morning?”

 

“Well, that’s how it is now. That door over there.”

 

“The back gate? This building isn’t my property…”

 

“Then you can pass it on to the building owner. You know you’re the only business operating here. Come out for a moment.”

 

The owner looked somewhat displeased but didn’t resist further and followed Elias out. Leonard held his breath and observed the owner’s gait and body tension as he walked out of the counter. He walked with smooth steps without hesitation, with no stiffness in his neck or waist. Though there was some tension in his eyelids, it was similar to other people who had seen Imperial mages, and surprisingly, his eyelids were slightly drooping as if tired. He didn’t even glance back toward the counter or small storage door. He intuited it. Anyone from headquarters who came to this place would be able to tell that something was wrong.

 

‘This is…’

 

If this place was an intermediary delivering supplies to Pleroma, and was currently storing letters or objects, he couldn’t easily leave this spot. No matter how much invisibility magic made it seem like no one was here, that person was facing the enemy of enemies right now, and someone with something to hide couldn’t easily leave their nest. At least, he couldn’t be so completely unhesitant. Leonard rummaged through the objects inside the counter and tore open the locked side door in the back to search inside. There was no safe. The small storage room contained only used flour sacks, spare cooking utensils, and white aprons.

 

There were no letters. There were also no objects with strange mana fluctuations. No, there was no miscellaneous junk at all. As if prepared for inspections that could come at any time.

 

“…”

 

Leonard closed the storage door and came out.

 

Creak—

 

“…Then I’ll tell the building owner. It was definitely fine until morning… It’s certain that the fine notice won’t come to me, right?”

 

“Ah, of course. What are you worrying about… It’s all done, so go about your business now.”

 

“Yes, yes. But the lighter…”

 

“Ah.”

 

Elias handed the lighter he was holding to the owner. Whether conscious of Leonard watching him from somewhere, Elias winked, and unsurprisingly, he seemed to have gone through the owner’s pockets. Perhaps to accomplish this, he had come in with an unfamiliar cigarette in his mouth. Leonard nearly collapsed seeing this scene, but since it was mimesis, there would be no actual problem with his lungs—though Elias would say he was being rigid if he heard this, health was quite an important matter for Leo who considered magical efficiency—and since he couldn’t scream, he had no choice but to remain faithful to observation until the end.

 

The owner who received the lighter returned to the counter with a tired face. Without showing any abnormal signs.

 

Now the conclusion converges to one.

 

The ‘object’ Pleroma hid in this bakery is something not materialized. They already know they’re cornered and that Imperial inspections can happen anywhere. Even safes aren’t something they can feel secure about.

 

Therefore, the information in the baker’s head. That is what Pleroma hid in this store.

 

‘…Whew.’

 

Leonard took a deep breath while dispelling his invisibility magic long after leaving the store.

 

Then what should we participants think now? Where does our thinking flow?

 

Now the case has fallen into a labyrinth.

 

We return to square one. We who started at step 1 reached step 3 directly without going through step 2. To draw a specific signal from the baker, we had to find the still unknown ‘step 2.’

 

The Elias-Leonard team wasn’t the only one to reach the same conclusion.

 

Ten minutes later.

 

Nepomucena Betin, who had entered a different mimesis from them, was at the bakery with the purple sign. He grabbed the collar of the baker collapsed on the floor and pointed his wand at his left eye. Since wands tended to work less well on humans than guns, he would have used a gun for intimidation if he had one, but thanks to the brilliant 98th Unit representative’s bungling—or maybe just this time—firearms had disappeared from mimesis too. Betin felt regret about this fact as he spoke.

 

“I’m really asking for the last time.”

 

“No, no… no…”

 

The baker, with the back of his head against a pool of blood, trying desperately to escape his position, stammered.

 

Betin closed his eyes watching that sight. This baker had been like this for 20 minutes now, keeping his mouth shut for too long. Betin’s longtime friend and only team member had fiercely criticized Betin’s method as utterly stupid and left even before arriving at the bakery—actually, this wasn’t Betin’s first time doing something like this—so he couldn’t get help from his team member. Still, there were definitely good points about his team member disappearing. If they weren’t going to stop him, he could do whatever he wanted, right? That’s what Betin thought. No matter what his team member cursed at him, the somewhat plausible clues were pointing to this purple bakery, so he planned to ransack this place first and then interrogate the Berlin University angler next. The method of using force first might seem ‘utterly stupid’ at first glance, but since there was plenty of time, it had a high success rate. For Betin, who had already been mobilized for various violent acts by the Imperial Court, this method looked like a wide open road without obstacles.

 

“I asked where you hid it.”

 

“I, I, I didn’t hide any… anything…”

 

Crash—!

 

“Ugh…”

 

“If there is something, then there is, isn’t there? Who decided there isn’t?”

 

Betin said while grabbing the baker by the collar and lifting him up.

 

“His Majesty has no need for subjects who conspire with Pleroma. If you confess now, His Majesty will show mercy, but if you continue to keep your mouth shut, you will die here. My summary execution is legal, so you cannot appoint a lawyer nor prosecute me.”

 

“No, no, no, there really isn’t any… You can search! Please, check the warehouse over there…!”

 

“Huu…”

 

Thud—

 

Betin let go of the collar. He rolled his tensed shoulders to loosen them and said.

 

“Then let’s continue until you talk.”

 

* * *

 

“Oh my, they’re just making a complete mess in all sorts of ways.”

 

Adrian Ascanien’s aide, who was watching all the Mimesis screens in the observation room, checked Nepomucena Betin’s screen last and burst into laughter. The aide spoke to his friend and examiner professor who happened to enter the observation room.

 

“There are only about a dozen of them, but there are so many different approaches. Don’t you think?”

 

“Really? I can’t tell anymore at this point.”

 

“It’s funny when you watch. This is supposed to be A-class… Hmm, to think that the level of talent filtered and re-filtered from across the entire Empire is only this much, really…”

 

At those words, the professor who was taking and reading the papers the aide had recorded lightly scolded him.

 

“Aren’t there too many possibilities? It’s not time to make hasty judgments based on just these videos.”

 

“Many, my foot.”

 

“We didn’t even tell them what to look for, so everything around them becomes information. Do you think you could pick out only the meaningful things from that ocean of countless information?”

 

The direction of the blowing wind, the amount of snow falling on their heads, December, Christmas, the appearance of passersby, nearby streams, forests, parks… everything was information. There were so many types of newspapers and magazines that dozens of mages had to work through the night to implement them in Mimesis. Even knowing this, the aide sitting in his chair snorted and replied curtly.

 

“Of course I would! What couldn’t I do in Berlin, which is only the size of a palm…”

 

“It’s easy to sit and babble while just watching screens. Especially from the perspective of someone who knows the answer.”

 

“…”

 

The aide turned his head and furrowed his brow at his friend’s words. It couldn’t help but be an annoying remark.

 

But his words weren’t wrong. All staff except the participants knew the model answer. Just recalling memories from school days, the professor’s words were obvious. Even when you received a test paper and were told to solve it, you’d be perplexed, but when you looked at the answer key and then looked at that perplexing problem again, didn’t it become annoyingly clear and easy to solve?

 

The two aides of Adrian Ascanien couldn’t even get into the Alliance. They didn’t have that ability. The mage sitting in his seat had the thought flash through his head that if he were dropped there, he would probably just stare blankly at newspapers looking for advertisements with things like ‘Jdi mjfcf ejdi’ that blatantly revealed ‘this is a code and the answer,’ which were surprisingly stupid and didn’t even have a way to pass newspaper censorship. What was more embarrassing was the fact that if he did discover such a code, he would feel proud of his alertness and sit in a plaza cafe—still choosing a shop where people were clearly visible since he had to monitor the citizens just in case—applying all the code-breaking methods he learned while taking advanced combat magic courses. Actually, if such things appeared on a test, the priority should be thinking this was a trap, and keeping it in mind was the best approach.

 

Or if not that, diligently warping around looking for non-existent rampagers.

 

Actually, even the purple-signed bakery that half of A-class had detected as strange, if he had been there without knowing the answer key, he would have just passed by. No matter how much a blockade order had been issued, the supply blockade hadn’t been going on for long, and wouldn’t it be common sense for there to be at least one or two shops in the neighborhood that were doing decent business? But their common sense seemed different.

 

When his thoughts reached that point, the mage went beyond having no words to retort and felt inexplicably worse, so he just kept his mouth shut and pursed his lips in dissatisfaction. The professor scolded such a him.

 

“Record it well. As the Minister said, even if they fail, the failure itself isn’t important. We need to understand their tendencies and select people to deploy in actual operations.”

 

“Right…”

 

“Ah, so. Did they really mess everything up? I adjusted it to an average level when I made it.”

 

“No, they didn’t mess everything up. I’m just saying… Having to explain even this, I don’t know what to say.”

 

The aide, still in a bad mood from the earlier incident, snapped curtly. The professor put down the record sheets of Squad 91B and C captains on the desk and gestured.

 

“Then that’s fortunate. So, who’s closest to the correct answer right now? Let me see the record sheets.”

 

“…”

 

The aide shrugged with half-open eyes while pulling the screen forward and handed over the two people’s record sheets.

 

* * *

 

“I came to deliver lyophilized bread to Miss Violet Brot.”

 

At those words, the baker’s eyes instantly became firm. Seeing eyes that shone with resolute light as if he had some patriotic mission, I put on the same expression. The fact that I hadn’t been kicked out despite his changed gaze and completely insane nonsense was a welcome reaction that signaled my success.

 

The baker seemed slightly flustered. He looked at an expensive-looking wall clock on one wall and narrowed his eyes.

 

“…Now? No, I’m sure they said they’d send it around 3 o’clock?”

 

Hmm, how slow. They say rumors travel faster than feet, but apparently not. But I definitely know there was a Royal Mage wandering around the arcade area earlier—since that was me. I also know that others saw that mage. I glanced at his name tag and opened my mouth, considering the possibility that the name written there might be an alias.

 

“No, Teacher.”

 

Clatter— Crash—!

 

At the sound of the door falling, both the owner and I looked toward the entrance with surprised faces. A gaunt and small Human shouted with a pale face.

 

“Martin, an Alliance mage has come to this neighborhood!”

 

Only after shouting did he notice me and opened his eyes wide in surprise. The owner’s facial muscles instantly stiffened upon hearing the news.

 

“Where are they now?”

 

“They were last seen around the newspaper stand, and they asked Schweitz ‘why there are no people walking around the neighborhood.'”

 

Had about 30 minutes passed since it started? 30 minutes must be the grace period the government gives us. If other A-class students also received this field, the ‘news of the Royal Mage’s visit’ would reach this shop in 30 minutes, or even earlier.

 

I inwardly praised the Human who was doing the tattling I was about to do, and put on a tense expression. The shop owner swallowed hard with a pale face. He checked the clock with a deeply furrowed brow and extended his hand to me.

 

“…”

 

The gaunt and small Human who came beside us was also looking at me with tense eyes. I pushed the soap—or wax—box I had picked up earlier directly to him. Then the shop owner examined it for bite marks and handed the soap back to me. He lowered his voice and muttered.

 

“…There’s an 8-year-old Human in the Gutzmus family.”

 

“…”

 

I slowly nodded.

 

The Gutzmus family. Not nobility, but a distinguished family of educators. And in honor of the Achievement of Hans Gutzmus, a scholar famous among Germans of this era, Berlin named a street after his family.

 

Good. I need to deliver this ‘lyophilized bread’ to Gutzmus Strasse in the Steglitz district of southwest Berlin.

 

Now that my deduction had been proven correct, I could finally retrace the path I had walked with peace of mind.

 

So, how did I end up here?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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